According to the latest statistics from the Communications Authority of Kenya, postal and courier sub-sector registered mixed trends as most consumers take preference in digital communication services.
The number of letters posted locally recorded declined by 10.7 per cent to 14.2 million from 16.0 million letters registered last quarter. On the contrary, the total number of letters sent during FY 2017/18 increased by 9.3 per cent to record 62.3 million letters.
The number of courier items sent locally declined to 1.2 million items from 1.9 million items recorded in the previous quarter representing a drop of 36.5 per cent. However, the total number of courier items sent during the financial year stood at 6.6 million up from 6.1 million items sent during financial year 2016/17 representing a growth of 9.6 per cent.
The number of International incoming letters stood at 2.05 million up from 1.06 million letters posted in the last quarter. On the contrary, the total number of International incoming letters decreased to 4.2 million in the FY 2017/18 from 6.4 million letters recorded in FY 2016/17.
Despite the huge decline, the number of Postal outlets as at the end of the fourth quarter of FY 2017/18, stood at 623 whereas Courier outlets increased to 1,027 from 997, marking a growth of 3.0 per cent.
During the financial year 2017/18, postal and courier sub-sector revenues dropped to 4.5 billion Kenya Shillings from 4.6 billion Kenya shillings reported in the financial year 2016/17. On the other hand, investment in the sub-sector rose by 74.0 per cent to 795 million Kenya Shillings during the year from 457 million Kenya shillings registered in the year 2016.
